Book Review: Artemis by Andy Weir

The bestselling author of The Martian returns with an irresistible new near-future thriller—a heist story set on the moon.

Jasmine Bashara never signed up to be a hero. She just wanted to get rich.

Not crazy, eccentric-billionaire rich, like many of the visitors to her hometown of Artemis, humanity’s first and only lunar colony. Just rich enough to move out of her coffin-sized apartment and eat something better than flavored algae. Rich enough to pay off a debt she’s owed for a long time.

So when a chance at a huge score finally comes her way, Jazz can’t say no. Sure, it requires her to graduate from small-time smuggler to full-on criminal mastermind. And it calls for a particular combination of cunning, technical skills, and large explosions—not to mention sheer brazen swagger. But Jazz has never run into a challenge her intellect can’t handle, and she figures she’s got the ‘swagger’ part down.

The trouble is, engineering the perfect crime is just the start of Jazz’s problems. Because her little heist is about to land her in the middle of a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself.

Trapped between competing forces, pursued by a killer and the law alike, even Jazz has to admit she’s in way over her head. She’ll have to hatch a truly spectacular scheme to have a chance at staying alive and saving her city.

Jazz is no hero, but she is a very good criminal.

That’ll have to do.

Propelled by its heroine’s wisecracking voice, set in a city that’s at once stunningly imagined and intimately familiar, and brimming over with clever problem-solving and heist-y fun, Artemis is another irresistible brew of science, suspense, and humor from #1 bestselling author Andy Weir.

Ever since my husband put this one down, he has been trying
to get me to read this book. I haven’t read The Martian, but I that movie is
one of my absolute favorites. What ended up convincing me to read this book was
my husband’s description of Jasmine…a strong, independent, badass female heroine
who has to thwart a heist on the moon, oh and she’s a POC. Sold.

Jazz Bashura is a smuggler with an insanely high IQ, who is
also one of the top smugglers in Artemis (the first and only city on the moon).
Life on Artemis isn’t all sunshine and daisies since it’s still wildly expensive
to get to. Therefore, the economy must rely on the ultra-rich tourists and business
billionaires, which leaves the actual citizens of Artemis with nothing but
scraps. Jazz works as a sort of courier making deliveries. Since Jazz’s life
goal is to finally be rich and out of the slums, she teams up with her Earth friend
Kevin to earn money smuggling goods between Artemis and Earth to earn extra
cash.

Jazz is able to make ends
meet with the smuggling gig, but it’s not the serious kind of cash that she
needs to get out her out of destitute. Everything changes when she is given the
opportunity to make A LOT of money. Of course this opportunity comes with the
steep price of murder, betrayal, and exiling her to her homeland of Saudi
Arabia BUT Jazz must do whatever she can to pay back her debts. If only she can
do so without dying in the process.

Artemis was a lot
of fun to read. Jazz’s self-deprecating humor probably isn’t for everyone, but
it reminds me so much of my own humor that I immediately gravitated towards
her. Jokes are made about her sexual promiscuity (even though she doesn’t
actually sleep with anyone during the story), but I didn’t find them offensive
or detracting from the story. The plot itself is fast-paced and packed with
action. I loved the world that Weir created on Artemis as well as learning what
the struggles of that sort of life would entail.

Overall, if you love action packed sci-fi that focuses on world building and has a badass heroine to boot, you don’t want to miss Artemis. I definitely recommend reading this one!